Grandpa's memorial service was today. It all went really well. Everything looked good and the photo tribute and video came out really nice. My eldest cousin got up and read a poem that she and her boys wrote about 'living in the boondocks', after my grandpa had told them that the farm was out in the 'boondocks' and they didn't know what that word meant. It pretty much showcased every feeling I have about The Farm and the way I feel about my childhood time spent there and to make matters worse, my cousin started crying before she even got through the explanation of what she was about to read - so yeah, everybody was crying by the end of that. I had to miss the graveside service, which meant I missed the military honors, for which I was sad, but it was 10 degrees below zero out and there was a foot and a half of snow and neither of those things are good for my health. So I stayed behind and watched everyone's children for them. It really was such a nice service though (and I'm not one to usually notice that kind of thing even) and my sister and my cousin did such an amazing job getting everything together. It was beyond stressful pulling it out like this, they did so much work, but I am at least glad they let me help a little, let me take a few things off their plates. At any rate, it all came out well. And this certainly won't be the last time I post about Grandpa here, as I have some stories I want to share, but I'm exhausted at the moment, so I thought for now I'd just share a poem. It's Bilbo Last Song, before going over the sea, and I think it is fitting for my grandpa, the Navy man.

Bilbo's Last Song - JRR Tolkien

Day is ended, dim my eyes, but journey long before me lies. Farewell, friends! I hear the call. The ship's beside the stony wall. Foam is white and waves are grey; beyond the sunset leads my way. Foam is salt, the wind is free; I hear the rising of the Sea.

Farewell, friends! The sails are set, the wind is east, the moorings fret. Shadows long before me lie, beneath the ever-bending sky, but islands lie behind the Sun that I shall raise ere all is done; lands there are to west of West, where night is quiet and sleep is rest.

Guided by the Lonely Star, beyond the utmost harbour-bar, I'll find the havens fair and free, and beaches of the Starlit Sea. Ship, my ship! I seek the West, and fields and mountains ever blest. Farewell to Middle-earth at last. I see the Star above my mast!

Rest in peace, Grandpa. I'll miss you every single day, until we meet again, in the West.

It really is. I re-discovered it not too long ago and it was the first thing I thought of when trying to think of a proper goodbye for my grandpa. He wasn't a Tolkien fan - he was a murder mystery/cowboy western kind of reader - but I think he would have loved this piece.

Thanks. I think we are. I got choked up last night, when it finally hit me. I don't know if my sister has had a minute to even grieve yet, but she will. I think it's just going to be one of those things that occasionally comes into my head, that he's gone, and hits me all over again - but most of the time, it's just going to be good memories for a long life well lived. <3s

Thank you. I feel like it's easier to explain my feelings about losing Grandpa than it is to explain my feelings about how wonderful it was to have him in my life. I don't think he'll ever know how much he meant to me.

Thank you. The service really went well. My cousin did a scrapbook and some poster board photo tributes and my sister did the music video (we used Life Is A Song by Patrick Park and it is a beautiful piece). A few flowers and his Navy photo on a little table at the front of the room. And a bunch of the local town showed up, some for the service, some for the lunch, to give Grandma their love. My Grandparents have been a fixture there for 60+ years and everyone knows them, so it was wonderful see so many people show up.

I almost used the lyrics from Into The West for this post but then I remembered this poem and knew I had found my perfect tribute. <3s

Thank you. <3 Your posts about your Mom really inspired me to want to do something similar. And I think in a few months, when I have some of those posts typed up, I'll print them and mail them to my Grandma - I think she'd like to read my take on some of Grandpa's stories.

Thank you, darling. It really was the perfect tribute for Grandpa - he would have loved it. And it sounds like I am not the only person who is going to write down some of their favorite stories of him, since my Grandma has already gotten some nice thoughtful letters from people sharing their love for Grandpa - I think she'll have a good little set of memories and love put together from it all by this time next year. <3